It Wouldn't Be Us!
by Pieces Of Hope
Summary: It takes a lot for Haseo to open up to someone but a little bit of perstering and Atoli's own confession might just do the trick. If I didn't Haseo, it wouldn't be us!


_Putting a spin on the "Atoli annoys Haseo" crap, haha! _

_…Just a little something for the few Atoli and Haseo fans! Poking a bit of fun at the Kudan Quest (Which I loved by the way…) and when I mention Kuhn, it's really just talking about how I bring him and Atoli everywhere. They're my number one party so…please try to accept that._

_As I wrote this I also think I made Shino a bit of a Haseoli fangirl. Sorry! But she did say the things I mentioned so I'm technically not wrong…_

_I find Haseo out of character...I did last time too but it's your choice. Helpful tips for a better Haseo are always wonderful!_

_Enjoy nonetheless!_

* * *

**It Wouldn't Be Us**

Atoli sat patiently on the steps of Breg Epona's plaza…

_This time for sure_, she thought with a smile, _I'll find him a quest he'll really like!_

It had been awhile since she had gone on a quest with Haseo. She closed her eyes for a moment and thought back on the happy memory of the day. It was only a few months ago at the most but so many things happened in between that it actually felt like years.

"What was it again?" She whispered to herself. She sat straight and stared at the quest shop that stood nearly in front of her.

_Come on Atoli think!_

Suddenly the old memory popped into her head. It was the Kudan quest. She had felt rather proud of herself for picking one that required a Lucky Animal having to be kicked but Haseo didn't really like it too much so her slight pride was pulled away as fast as it came.

She sighed, she still felt like she couldn't make him happy.

She clearly remembered that day now. The memory was never clearer. She knew that she had once again failed in her unending attempts to find at least one adventure Haseo would enjoy with her. (At this time having not yet realized that he enjoyed almost anything that had to do with her…)

But what struck her odd now was the recall of how Haseo had just stared at her without a word for quite a long while.

_What was he thinking about? _She wondered with a shrug of her shoulders. The best thing to do now was to just ask him. He probably would either not remember his thoughts at all or more likely he was probably just making fun of her privately.

She guessed it was more likely the latter of the two.

But to be honest it didn't matter to Atoli in the least. She brightly thought that if she was on his mind that was really all that mattered.

"Atoli." The familiar voice said behind her. Unexpectedly she found Haseo walk down the steps and sit beside her. With a deep sigh he turned towards her and gave her a disappointed smile. "Sorry I'm late."

"Oh it's all right!" She replied brightly with a smile. "Well, who did you decide to bring along for our quest?" She asked looking around for their third party member. Usually when Atoli asked Haseo out adventuring he brought Kuhn along but she didn't see him or any other friend of theirs. Normally as soon as Haseo logged in he formed his party, it was rare for him not to.

His eyes widened as he slapped his forehead, annoyed with himself. "Oh damn…" He cursed. "I forgot."

"…About the quest?" She asked in return, trying her hardest to hide her hurt feelings.

"NO!" Haseo spoke rather quickly. "I remembered you, I just happened to forget the other person." He gave a fake laugh and browsed his party list. Excluding Atoli, everyone was either offline or busy. Well everyone except Piros…

No, just no.

"Sorry, I uh…don't think we can do this today." He sighed again. Sometimes he could seriously be an idiot. He was actually looking forward to this quest too.

"Oh well," Atoli said softly. She looked up at the slightly flustered Adept Rouge and smiled. "We can just talk for a little, right?" She asked.

"Talk?" He repeated the word as if he had never heard of it before.

"Yes. Tell me about your day Haseo. Or if you like what kept you?" As soon as she said it, she thought she sounded like she was trying to pry into his offline life or something… "You don't have to…" She then said softly after, slightly killing the confidence she had shown before.

_Be more confident, like Shino said…_

"But I'd really love to hear about it!" She placed her gloved hand atop of his and grinned as cheerfully as she could.

Just sitting beside Haseo was just as good as adventuring with him!

Haseo's eyes quickly flashed to their touching hands and his cheeks betrayed the cool composure he was trying so hard to pull off. He had remembered a similar situation after Atoli's forceful hug after their first round of fights in the Demon Palace tournament.

_Be honest with yourself, like Shino said…_

He gently flipped his hand over to cup hers.

Atoli let out a quiet burst of giggles as Haseo cleared his throat.

"Work kept me." He started with a grunt.

"Your job at the grocery store?" She asked.

In the time that Atoli had known Haseo she had been let in on very small details of his offline life, like his job or the fact he lived alone in Tokyo. She was also aware that Haseo was a year older then her but age never came as a bother to Atoli in the process of making friends.

She knew other little details too but that's a story for another time.

"Yea I mean it wasn't a crappy day or anything it's just that I was checking my e-mail during my break and I got yours right when I was about to leave for the rest of my shift." He groaned quietly, having been reminded of the pain of earlier today.

"So you told me you wanted me to meet you at five and that's when my shift ends so I wanted to e-mail you back to change the time but my boss caught me with my phone out during work hours and friggin' took it from me. I didn't get it back until I clocked out, way passed our meeting time." He sliently cursed under his breath after his explaination.

Atoli only nodded, feeling somewhat awful for causing him so much trouble.

"I feel bad though, I left ya here waiting huh?" He shook his head, disappointed in his own tardiness, which was unwonted of him. But as of late Haseo was changing in all sorts of ways.

Atoli shook her head quickly in disagreement. "Oh it's all right! Really!" She tilted her head and chuckled. "I was actually thinking of the last quest we went on together." As she smiled Haseo frowned and turned his eyes to the bright blue sky.

"The last quest?" He questioned. It had been awhile since Atoli had asked him on a quest. They went to areas together all the time but quest invitations were rare.

"The Kudan, remember?" She asked.

"Oh yea…" Quickly a new thought entered Haseo's mind. "Yea…" A new tint of pink brightened his cheeks.

"What is it?" She asked, her voice and smile as sweet as ever.

_She really is cute_…Haseo thought, nearly repeating what happened the last time.

"N-nothing!" He stammered. His eyes quickly looked away from hers as he recollected the embarrassing thoughts that had happened to pop into his mind that day.

_Was Atoli always as cute as she is now? The one who made me realize what's important…?_

"What were you thinking about?" She asked gently, vaguely leaning closer towards him.

"I'm not thinking about anything." He countered roughly, more like the way he used to speak to her. She didn't mind though, she liked all of Haseo's moods. That was the price of loving him the way she did.

But she shook her head in disagreement, despite his change in mood. "No, what were you thinking of back then? You seemed like you were thinking about something really important." She laughed. "I bet you were making fun of me!" She giggled again and stood up, pulling her hand away from his.

She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on one leg, putting the other at a slight angle.

"What the hell…?" Haseo wondered aloud as he looked over her very familiar stance.

"That damn Atoli…" She started, her impersonation of the boy much better then to be expected. Haseo almost laughed..._but_ felt that would have broken the angry mood he was suddenly trying so hard to represent.

"She's so goddamn annoying!" She did not move her arms but switched the weight in her legs. "_Haseo_ look at this! _Haseo_ look at that!" She groaned. "She gives Shino's face a bad name!"

"I don't think like that…" He drifted off, guilty in conscious that at one time thoughts like that did cross his mind.

"Oh, I'm sure!" She chuckled sarcastically. She was fully aware at how much she drove Haseo crazy.

"Seriously…Atoli…" Haseo tried to say but she interrupted, finding her thoughts to be more important then his protests.

She didn't care what he thought of her...

All she wanted was to be thought of...

"I know I drive you crazy but you know that I only want to see you happy! To see you smile." She grabbed his hand again and brought it to her heart. "You had tried so hard to look for a way to save Shino but…" She looked up at him, a power he had never seen in her eyes now shown fiercely. "I was looking for a way to save you."

Haseo's scarlet eyes broadened at the shock of her confession. He needed to thank her in some way.

He couldn't have saved Shino without her. He couldn't have changed or have become a better person without her. She had let him in on her thoughts, so he needed to let her in on his.

He coughed…

Looked up at her and…

"I think you're cute." He whispered, though only loud enough to reach his own ears.

"What?" She asked, curious to his words.

"I said…" He grunted, taking a deep breath in. He was finding himself growing frustrated with her and himself, yet his love for her came in just as strong as his annoyance if that made any sense. "I THINK YOU'RE CUTE!" He shouted, standing up. His tone of voice reminiscent of the day he had snapped at her on one of their early adventures.

This conversation was very different though…

"You're cute and you're important to me…and..." Uncontrollably he began to ramble. "And let's go to one of you're a million favorite places now…" He didn't say a word as he got up to make his way to the elevator.

"But Haseo!" Atoli started, his words leaving her flustered.

"Shut up, let's go." He ordered. She wordlessly got up and followed after him.

...But as their neared the Chaos Gate Atoli's faintly inquisitive nature had decided to take over.

"Hey Haseo am I cuter then Shino?" She asked with a laugh, possibly trying to get a rise out of him.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Haseo barked in return. His cheeks had nearly turned a color that matched his eyes.

"What about Alkaid or Pi?" She asked again, finding a strange joy in his reactions.

True, it was unusual for her, but then again she was changing just as much as Haseo was.

"So am I? Am I?!" She got up in his face this time, dark shadows of power glowing beneath her eyes.

"YES! Now shut up! You're annoying me." He turned roughly towards the gate and now concentrated on only finding the area words.

Atoli laughed to herself…

_"Well if I didn't Haseo, it wouldn't be us!"_


End file.
